AB0243 ASSOCIATIONS BETWEEN JOINT DEFORMITY, DISEASE DURATION, DISEASE ACTIVITY, ACTIVITIES OF DAILY LIVING, QUALITY OF LIFE, PAIN, AND FATIGUE IN PATIENTS WITH RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS
Authors: I. Yoshii, N. Sawada, T. Chijiwa
Journal: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases (2022)

Background Patient with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have disease-related problems such as joint deformity, disease duration, disease activity, activities in daily life (ADL), quality of life, pain, and fatigue. All these problems correlate interactively. Objectives Aim of this study is to clarify association among these problems statistically using retrospective cohort data. Methods Patients with RA who were followed up more than three years were recruited. Their EuroQol-5 th dimension (EQ5D) as an indicator of quality of life (QOL), simplified disease activity index (SDAI) as an indicator of disease activity, Health Assessment Questionnaire Disability Index (HAQ) as an indicator of ADL, pain score using visual analog scale (PS-VAS), and fatigue score using visual analog scale (FS-VAS), were monitored every three months. Sharp/van der Heijde score (SHS) as an indicator of joint deformity was calculated annually. Association among average values of these factors and patient’s sex, age, disease duration (DD), and anti-citrullinated polypeptide antibodies (ACPA) titer were evaluated using multivariate linear regression analysis. Statistical significance was set within 5%. Results A total of 447 patients, in whom 120 male and 327 female included, were analyzed. Mean age, disease duration, EQ5D score, SDAI score, HAQ score, SHS, PS-VAS, and FS-VAS during follow-up were 71.6-year-old, 12.9 years, 0.831, 4.26, 0.413, 46.9, 22.5, and 23.2, respectively. EQ5D score correlated significantly with age, HAQ score, SDAI score, SHS, PS-VAS, FS-VAS, and DD using univariate models. In these, age, HAQ score, and FS-VAS correlated significantly using multivariate model (correlation coefficients (CC): 0.927). HAQ score correlated significantly with age, EQ5D score, SDAI score, SHS, PS-VAS, FS-VAS, and DD using univariate models. In these, EQ5D score, SHS, and FS-VAS correlated significantly using multivariate model (CC: 0.910). SDAI score correlated significantly with female gender, EQ5D score, HAQ score, SHS, PS-VAS, and FS-VAS using univariate models. In these, SHS and PS-VAS correlated significantly using multivariate model (CC: 0.620). SHS correlated significantly with age, female gender, EQ5D score, HAQ score, SDAI score, PS-VAS, and DD using univariate models. In these, HAQ score, SDAI score, and DD correlated significantly using multivariate model (CC: 0.685). PS-VAS correlated significantly with EQ5D, HAQ score, SDAI score, SHS, and FS-VAS using univariate models. In these, SDAI score and FS-VAS correlated significantly using multivariate model (CC: 0.732). FS-VAS correlated significantly with EQ5D score, HAQ score, SDAI score, and PS-VAS using univariate models. In these, EQ5D score, HAQ score, and PS-VAS correlated significantly using multivariate model (CC: 0.715). ACPA did not correlated with any factors significantly. Conclusion These results suggested that EQ5D score, namely QOL is influenced by various disease-related factors and aging, especially correlated with ADL and fatigue closely. The HAQ score, namely ADL level is influenced by fatigue level and joint deformity directly. The SDAI score, namely disease activity level correlated with pain level and joint deformity level, and correlates with the other factors indirectly. A schematic figure that represents relationships among factors were shown in Figure 1. These information would beneficial for conducting treatment protocol of RA. Disclosure of Interests None declared